Control device



March 22, 1949. R. STEVENS 2,464,993

coNTRoi. DEVICE ori inal Filed April 28, 1944 IN VEN TOR g Roy 1?. Stevens ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 22, 1949 OFFICE CONTROL DEVICE Griginal application April 28, 1944, Serial No; 533,146. Divided and this application April 7', 1945, Serial No. 587,164

2 Claims.

This invention relates to control devices and more particularly to a device for selectively con; trolling communication between a plurality of pipes, the present application being a division of my ccpending application, Serial No. 533,146, filed April 28, 1344, which issued as Patent No. 2,444,273 On June 29, 1948.

In reversing an internal combustion engine of the Diesel type it is customary to first out off the supply of fuel to the engine, to then reverse the valve timing or gear of the engine to provide for operation in the reverse direction, to next starting air to the engine for causing it to start turning in the reverse or new direction, following which fuel is supplied to the on. to cause it to run in the new direction.

The principal object of the present invention is the provision of a directional control device, particularly adapted, though not limited, for controlling the supply of fuel to air engine and which is operative automatically upon reversing the engine to prevent fuel being supplied to the engine until. after the engine starts turning in the new or selected direction.

objects and advantages will be apparent from the following more detailed description of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing: Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view, partly in section and partly in outline, of a control apparatus embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a partial plan view of an operators control device shown in vertical section in Fig. 1; Figs. 3 and 4 are sectional views taken on the lines 33 and ll, respectively, in Fig, 1; and Fig. 5 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of a directional control device shown in side elevation in'Fig. 1 and taken on a line 5-5 therein.

Description In the drawing, the reference numeral I indicates a portion of one end of a crank shaft of an internal combustion engine, and reference numeral 2 indicates a portion of one end of a cam shaft for said engine. The cam shaft may be driven in proper phase with the crank shaft l by meshing gears 3 and 4 for operating engine valve mechanisms and fuel injection mechanisms in a well known manner to permit the engine to be started by compressed air for operation in either direction of rotation, to, for instance, drive a ship either ahead or astern. To provide for the diiferent directions of operation the cam shaft may have the usual forward cams (not shown) to provide for operation of the engine in the one or ahead direction and reverse cams (not shown) to provide for operation of the englue in the reverse or astern direction and may be shiftable longitudinally relative to the crank shaft l for rendering either the forward cams or the reverse cams effective for controlling the engine valves or timing gear in a" well known manner. In the drawing the cam shaft is shown in what may be considered the position to provide for operation of the engine in an a'stern direction and may be shifted by a lever 5 from this position to an ahead position in which said lever may occupy a position such as indicated by a dot and dash line 5a.

The reference numeral 6 indicates a fuel control member or shaft which may be rockabl'e' by a. lever l to control the supply of fuel to the engine through the medium of controlling operation of a speed governor on the engine, or independently of said governor. It is sufficient to point out that the lever l and shaft 6 may have a fuel cut-off position in which they are shown in Fig. l, for cutting off the supply of fuel to the engine to stop same, and may be adjustable out of said position to a fuel supply position; such as indicated by a" dot and dash line 8 to supply fuel" to the engine.

A fuel cut-off device It is provided for moving the fuel control lover I from the fuel supply position to thefue'l cut-off position. This device may comprise a cylinder containing a piston ll having at one side a pressure chamber l2 open to a control pipe I3 and having at the opposite side'a non-pressure chamber M. Projecting'from piston II through the non-pressure chamber- M is a piston rod ii in the end of which is an elongated slot in which is disposed a pin it secured to the fuel cut-01f lever l. The nonpressure chamber M contains a spring I? encircling the rod 15 and acting on the piston l! for urging same in the direction of the right hand away from astop shoulder l8. Movement in the direction of the right hand is arranged to be limited by contact between the piston t! and a stop I 9; Upon supply of fluid under pressure to pressure chamber l-Z the force created on piston H will cause the piston and thereby the fuel cut-off lever I to move to its fuel cut-oh position shown in the drawing. Upon release of fluid under pressure from chamber if! the-spring I? will move the piston into contact with stop is and this movement transmitted through the piston rod l5- will turn the fuel" control lever l to the fuel supply position indicated by line 8.

A relief valve device 20 is provided for releasing fluid under pressure from chamber l2 in the fuel cut-off device Ill. The relief valve device comprises a casing having a chamber 2| open to control pipe l3 and containing a valve 22 for opening said chamber to a chamber 23 which is open to atmosphere through a port 24. A spring 25 in chamber 2| acts on the valve 22 for urging it to its closed position shown in the drawing. A piston 26 subject on one side to atmospheric pressure in chamber 23 and on the opposite side to pres-sure of fluid in a pressure chamber 2i is operatively connected to the valve 22. Supply of fluid under pressure to chamber 2? will actuate the piston 25 to open the valve 22, while release of fluid under pressure from chamber 2? will allow closing of said valve by spring 25. The supply and release of fluid under pressure to and from pressure chamber 21 is arranged to be controlled through a pipe 28 by means which will be later described.

The reference numeral 38 indicates the starting air valve device arranged to operate upon supply of fluid under pressure to a control pipe 3| to supply starting air from a supply pipe 32 to a pipe 33 which may convey it to the starting valves of the engine for supply to the engine's cylinders to place the engine in motion in the direction determined by the position of the cam shaft 2. Upon release of fluid under pressure from pipe 3| starting air valve device 36 will operate to cut off the supply of starting air to the starting air pipe 33. The control of the supply and release of fluid under pressure to and from the control pipe 3| will be hereinafter described.

A power motor 40 is provided for shifting the cam shaft 2 to its two different positions. This motor is preferably of the follow-up type and comprises a power cylinder 4| containing a power piston 42 which is operatively connected through i a rod 43, and a link 44 to the free end of the cam shifting lever 5. Upon supply of fluid under pressure to the right hand face of the power piston 42 and release of fluid under pressure from the left hand face said piston will move to the position in which it is shown in the drawing for actuating arm 5 to shift the cam shaft 2 to the astern position as shown in the drawing. Upon supply of fluid under pressure to the left-hand face of the power piston 42 with fluid released from the right-hand face, said piston will move to the oposite end of the power cylinder 4| for thereby drawing lever 5 to the ahead position indicated by the dot and dash line 5a.

. The power motor 40 further comprises a control valve mechanism 45 containing an astern valve device 46 and ahead valve device 41 arranged to be controlled by a lever 48 for controlling the supply and release of fluid under pressure to and from the chambers at the righthand and left-hand sides, respectively, of the power piston 42. Movement of lever 48 in the direction of the left-hand will actuate the valve device 46 to supply fluid under pressure to the right-hand face of the power piston 42 and at the same time permit operation of the valve device 41 to open the left-hand face of said piston to atmosphere. Movement of lever 48 in the direction of the right-hand will effect operation of the valve device 4'! to supply fluid to act on the left-hand face of power piston 42 and at the same time permit operation of the valve device 46 to open the right-hand face of said piston to atmosphere. With the lever 48 in the neutral position as shown in the drawing, the pressure of fluid on the opposite faces of the power piston 42 will be balanced, and to attain such balancing both of the valve devices 46 and 41 may, if desired, be conditioned in this position of said lever to open the opposite faces of the power pigton to atmosphere.

The power motor 40 further comprises a pilot portion 50 associated with the power cylinder 4| and containing a pilot piston 5| having at its left-hand side a chamber open to an ahead control pipe 52 and having at the right-hand side another control chamber open to an astern control pipe 53. The piston 5| is connected to a rod 54 which projects through the chamber at its left-hand face to the exterior of the device. In the outer end of rod 54 is a cross-head 55 which is disposed to slide in a slot provided in an operating lever 56. One end of this lever is operatively connected by a pin 51 to the power piston rod 43, while the opposite end is connected by a pin 58 to one end of a rod 59. The opposite end of rod 59 is connected by a pin 48a to the end of lever 48 in the control valve mechanism 45.

The operation of the power motor 48 is briefly as follows: With the parts of the motor positioned as shown in the drawing, under which condition the cam shaft 2 will be in its astern position also as shown, if it is desired to reverse the position of cam shaft 2 to provide for operation of the engine in the reverse or ahead direction, fluid under pressure will be supplied through the ahead pipe 52 to act on the left-hand face of the pilot piston 5|, The pilot piston 5| will thereby be moved in the direction of the righthand and such movement will turn lever 56 in a clockwise direction about its connection with the power piston rod 43; this connection remaining stationary at this time due to the relatively great reluctance to movement of the power piston 42. This rocking of lever 58 acts through the connecting rod 59 to turn lever 48 of the control valve mechanism from its neutral position in a clockwise direction for thereby supplying fluid under pressure to act on the left-hand face of the power piston 42. The power piston 42 will thus be moved in the direction of the right-hand, and after the pilot piston 5| attains its righthand position, this movement of the power piston 42 will actuate lever 56 to draw lever 48 of the control valve mechanism 45 back toward its neutral position which will be attained when the power piston 42 reaches its right-hand position in the power cylinder 4|. With the lever 48 thus returned to its neutral position, the opposing pressures of fluid on the power piston will be balanced. This movement of the power piston 42 from its left-hand to its right-hand position will draw the lever 5 to the position indicated by the dot and dash line So and, as will be apparent, this operation will shift the cam shaft 2 from its astern position, that is to say, from the position in which it is shown in the drawing to its ahead position hereinbefore described.

If it is now desired to return the cam shaft 2 from its ahead position to its astern position, fluid under pressure will be supplied to the astern pipe 53 to act on the right-hand face of the pilot piston 5|. The pilot piston 5| will then move in the direction of its left-hand position to thereby effect operation of the control valve mechanism 45 to supply fluid to act on the right-hand face of the power piston 42. Power piston 42 will then move to its left-hand position and the control valve mechanism 45 will operate in response to such movement to equalize the opposing pres- 5, sure on the opposite sides of the power piston 52 at the time it attains its left-hand position. This movement of the power piston 42 will turn lever and cam shaft 2 back to their astern position in which position they are shown in the drawing.

The parts of the apparatus as so far described may be identical to corresponding parts fully disclosed and described in a copending application of Erik G. Erson and myself, Serial No. 520,256; filed January 29, 1944, now Patent No. 2,395,202, dated February 19, 1946, and assigned to the assignee of the present application, and since reference may be had to said application, a more detailed showing of these parts in the drawing and amore detailed description thereof are not deemed essential in the present application.

The supply and release of fluid under pressure to and from pipe 28 for controlling operation of the relief valve device is is arranged to be controlled by a directional control valve device til which may also be identical to a corresponding device employed for the purpose of illustration in the copend-ing application above referred to, but which constitutes the present invention.

The directional control valve device Gil cornprises (Fig. 5) a casin containing a double Check valve 6! arranged to control EOhlllLlIliCilbiOl'l between pipe 28 and two passages 62 and lit. In one position of the double check valve 6! passage 23 will be disconnected from passage and opened to passage while in another'or upper position of said double check valve said pipe will be disconnected from passage 62 opened to passage 63. The passages 62 and 63 lead, respectively to an astern valve device 6 and an ahead valve device to.

The valve devices E land so are identical in structur each comprising a supply valve contained in a chamber El and arranged to control communication between said chamber and a chamber 558. A spring lilo in chamber 6? acts on valve 66 to seat same. In the ahead valve device chamber iil is connected by pipe 520 to pipe 52, while in the astern valve device he, chamber bl is connected by pipe 53a to pipe 53.

In each of the valve devices and it the chamber 68' contains a release valve (-59 in constant contact with a fluted stein projecting from the supply valve and havins a fluted stem lo slidably mounted in a plunger l! which in turn is mounted to slide in a bore in the casing. The casing is provided with an annular recess encircling plunger ll containing a ring seal l2 having sea ng and sliding contact with the peripheral surface of the plunger for preventing leakage of fluid under pressure from chamber 68 past said plunger. The plunger l i in its outer peripheral surface a longitudinally extending slot into which projects the end of a casing carried cet screw '5 la arranged to contact the OvL- .U of said slot for limiting movement of said plunger in either one direction or the other. The bore in plunger H, in which bore stem iii of the release valve is slidably mounted, opens to a larger bore l3 the outer end of which is closed by a plug l l. bore '53 is constantly open to the atmosphere through one or more ports '15 provided adjacent the closed end of plug i l. A plunger it loosely mounted in bore '53 extends into bore 713 and therein is provided with an enlarged head l'l which may be of smaller diameter than bore '83 to allow flow of fluid from one side to the opposite side. Against head ill ears one end of a spring 18 the opposite end of which is supported by contact with. the inner end of plug l l. This spring is under compression and therefore constantly effective to urge the plunger H in a direction away from and thus out of seating engagement with the release valve to.

The casing of the directional control device is provided midway between the outer ends of the two plugs M with a depending lug 88 carrying a pin 8! upon which is fulcrumed a lever 82. having two oppositely arranged arms 33 one disposed over the end of each of the two plugs M. In the end of each arm 83 is secured an adjustable actuating screw 84% which engages the respective plug With the parts of the directional control valve device in the position in which they are shown in Fig. 5, the two screws 8 '1- are so adjusted as to permit springs filo. to move the two supply valves as into contact with their seats and to permit movement of the two plungers ll by springs 18 out of contact with the respective release valves 69.

The lever 82 also provided with a depending operating arm 35': the end of whi h is loosely accommodated in a slot 86 provided in and open to the periphery of a friction disc Ell. This disc is carried on one end of a plunger 83 which is slidably mounted in a bore provided in a casing 89 which is rigidly supported with respect to the en "no so to support the friction disc in coaxial relation with the end of the engine crank shaft l. The plunger 83 is also eilective in the capacity of a piston for moving the friction disc into frictional contact with the end of the crank shaft l, and to effect such movement there is provided at its inner end a pressure chamber as which is open to the starting control pipe .3!

The reference numeral indicates an operators fluid pressure control valve device which may be located immediately adjacent the engine at any desired remote control station. This device comprises a body 55 and a cover Eli mounted on said body, and in said body there are disposed, what may be called, an ahead run valve device 8? and an astern run valve device 98 for controlling through pipes 52 and respectively, operation of he pilot piston 5! in the power motor id to select the direction of operation of the engine. The body also contains a start valve device so for controlling operation of the starting air valve device 3'73 and of the. plunger 83 associated with the dire tional. control device (it, and a stop valve device act for controlling operation of the fuel cut-off device it? to effect stopping .of the engine.

The ahead and astern run. valve devices Q? and 953 and the stop valve device toil are arranged in spaced parallel relation with their axes shown diagrammatically in the same plane, while the start valve device so is arranged with its axis also in said plane but at right angles to the axes of the valve devices.

All of the valve devices 92'. 9!, and 99 and we may be identical in construction, each comprising a fluid pressure supply valve Hi2 contained in a chamber Hi3 and arranged to control communication between said chamber and a chamber Hi l through an opening encircled by a seat provided for engagement by said valve to close said communication. A spring H15 in chamber I03 acts on valve M2 for urging it into contact with its seat. The valve 162 is connected by a stem which loosely extends through the valve seat to a plunger ml which is slidably mounted in a suitable bore in the body, said plunger being of substantially the same area as the seat on the valve Hi2 and subject on one face to pressure of fluid in chamber I04 and on the opposite face to atmospheric pressure in a chamber I08 which is open to atmosphere by way of a passage I09. The valve I02, stem I06 and plunger I01 are provided with an axial bore IIO open at one end to chamber I03, and a release valve I H disposed in chamber I08 is arranged to control communication between the opposite end of said passage and the latter chamber. The release valve I I I is provided with a plunger I I2 extending to the exterior of the body.

Chamber I04 in the several valve devices 9'I, 98, 99 and I is connected directly to a fluid pressure supply reservoir I I 3 and thus arranged to be constantly supplied with fluid under pressure when the system is in use. Since the area of plunger I0I subject to pressure of fluid in chamber I04 equals substantially that of valve I02 also subject to the pressure of fluid in said chamber, it will be noted that the pressure of fluid actin in one direction is substantially counterbalanced by its effect in the opposite direction, so that pressure of spring I05 on valve I02 need only be relatively small to provide a sufiicient bias for seating said valve.

Chambers I03 in the ahead and astern valve devices 91 and 96 are connected to pipes 52 and 53, respectively, leading to the pilot portion 50 of the power motor 40. Chamber I63 in the start valve device 99 is connected to pipe 3i leading to the starting air valve device 30 and to plunger actuating chamber 90, while chamber I03 in the stop valve device I00 is connected by a pipe H4 containing a check valve device II6 to pipe I3 leading to the fuel cut-off device.

Disposed over the plungers II2 of the valve devices 91, 98 and I00 and arranged in the same vertical plane but at right angles to the axes of said plungers is a horizontally disposed hollow control shaft II6 which is suitably journaled at its opposite ends in the cover 96. A plunger III is slidably mounted in the control shaft I I6 with its left-hand end projecting outwardly beyond the adjacent end of the control shaft above plunger II2 of the start valve device 99. A hollow cam shaft II 8 is telescoped over and secured to the control shaft H6 and bears at opposite ends against the cover 96 for holding both shafts against axial movement.

The two shafts H6 and H8 are provided with aligned longitudinally extending slots, and the plunger H1 is provided with a like slot and through these slots extends the lower end portion II9 of an operators control lever I which is pivotally mounted on a pin I2I carried by a lug I22 projecting upwardly from the cam shaft I I8. In the lower end portion IE9 of the control lever is a slot I23 within which is disposed a transversely extending pin I24 which is secured to plunger I II. It will be seen that rocking of the operators control lever I20 about the pin I2I in a direction longitudinally of the cam shaft H8 will shift the plunger III lengthwise within the control shaft II6, while movement of said lever in a direction about the axis of said cam shaft will rotate said cam shaft without effecting endwise movement of plunger I II.

The control lever I20 extends through a guide slot in cover 96 which provides a definite path for movement of said lever. This slot is shown in plan in Fig. 2 and comprises a central portion I25 to permit movement of lever I 20 in a direction circumferentially of the cam shaft I I8. One end of the slot I25 opens into a short slot I26 arranged at right angles to the slot I25, while at the opposite end of slot I25 is another short slot I21 extending in the same direction and parallel to slot I26. The slots I26 and I21 provide for movement of the operators control lever I20 in a clockwise direction about the fulcrum pin I2I for moving the plunger I I1 outwardly of the control shaft H6.

The operators control lever I20 may have five different operating positions in the slots I25, I26 and I2! including a Stop position intermediate the ends of slot I25, in which position said lever is shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing. At the end of slot I25 adjacent the short slot I26 the lever I20 has a Run position, while at the opposite end of slot I25 said lever has another Run position, and at the outer ends of each of each of the slots I26 and I2'I said lever has a Start position. These positions are indicated in Fig. 2 by appropriate legends, and it will be noted that beyond the short slot I2'I is the legend Ahead, while beyond the short slot I26 is the legend Astern. The Start position in slot I26 is for starting the engine in an Astern direction, while the adjacent Run position is for running the engine in said direction after being started. The Start position in slot I2'I is for starting the engine in an Ahead direction, While the adjacent Run position is that in which the operators control lever will be carried while the engine is running in the Ahead direction after being started, as will be hereinafter described in greater detail.

The body 95 of the operators control valve device has an exterior lug I29 disposed between plunger II2 of the start valve device 99 and the plunger I I1 slidably mounted in the control shaft HE. A lever I30 fulcrumed intermediate its ends on a pin I3I carried by lug I29 has one end in contact with stem II2 of the release valve III in the start control valve device 96, while its opposite end is operatively connected to the projecting end of plunger I I I. With the operators control lever I20 in slot I25 the plunger Ill, lever I30 and parts of the start control valve device 99 will occupy the positions shown in the drawing in which pipe 3I leading to the starting air valve device 30 will be open to atmosphere through chamber I03 in said valve device, bore I I0 and past the release valve III. Movement of lever I20 into either one of the short slots I26 or I2! will however operate plunger Ill and lever I30 to first seat the release valve III and then open the supply valve I62 in the start control valve device 99 for thereby supplying fluid under pressure to pipe 3|.

The cam shaft H8 is provided with three cams I35, I36 and I37, the peripheral surfaces of which are arranged to contact plungers II2 of the valve devices 91, 68 and I06, respectively, for controlling the operation of said valve devices. The cams I35 and I66 may be of identical structure but are reversely arranged on the cam shaft I III. The cam I35 is so designed as to effect closure of the release valve III and opening of the supply valv I02 in the ahead valve device 91 with the operators handle I20 in the Ahead, Run and Start positions and to permit closing of said supply valve I02 and opening of said release valve in all other positions of said handle. The cam I36 is operative to close the release valve I I I and open supply valve I62 in the astem valve device in the Astern, Run and Start positions of lever I26 and to permit closure of said supply valve and opening of said release valve in all other positions on said lever. The cam I3! is so designed as to effect closure of the release valve Ill and opening of supply valve I02 of the stop control valve device I00 only in the Stop position of the operators control lever and to permit closure of said supply valve and. opening of said release valve in all other positions of said lever.

In operation, let it be assumed that the operators control lever lZil is initially in Stop position effecting operation of the ahead and astern run valve devices 91 and 98, and of the start valve device 99 to open the respective pipes 52, 53 and 3| to atmosphere, and also effecting operation of the stop valve device N39 to supply fluid under pressure to pipe li l.

Fluid thus supplied to pipe EU) will flow through the check valve device H5 to pipe I3, and with valve 22 in the relief valve device 2i! closed, this pressure will become effective in chamber l2 of the fuel cut-off devices id to move the piston H and thereby the control lever I to 9 be in the condition previously assumed, which for example may be the position in which the parts are shown in the drawing with the lever 5 and cam shaft 2 conditioned to provide for operation of the engine in the reverse or astern direction. With pipe 3! open to the atmosphere i the starting air valve device 30 will be conditioned to prevent supply of starting air to the starting air pipe 33, and the plunger 83 will be relieved of pressure to relieve the driving friction between the disc 81 and the end of the crank shaft I. With disc 3'! thus conditioned, the parts of the directional control valve device 68 will assume the position in which they are shown in Fig. 5 due.to the actions of springs fi'la. on the supply valves 55 and springs 13 on the plungers l l If the operator now desires to restart the engine in the same direction as last operated, that is, in the astern direction, he will move lever i2!) from Stop position directly to the Astern, Start position. the astern run valve device at will operate to supply fluid under pressure through .pipe 53 to the right-hand face of the pilot piston 5! in the power motor Ml, but since said piston is already in its astern position the parts of the power motor lfi will not change position. Fluid supplied to pipe 53 will also flow through branch pipe 53a to supply valve chamber 61 in the astern valve device St of the directional control valve device fill, but since valve oil in said valve device is closed n at this time flow of fluid out of said chamber cannot occur.

When the operators control valve device is moved from the Stop position to the Astern Start position cam lt'l permits operation of the stop valve device liifi to release fluid under pressure from pipe H4, but the check valve H5 prevents the release of fluid under pressure from piston chamber l2 in the fuel cut-off device Iii upon such release of fluid from pipe Hi, so that said cut-off device will maintain the fuel control lever i in its fuel cut-off position. Movement of the operators control lever to the Astern Start position also actuates the starting valve device 99 to supply fluid under pressure to pipe 8! thence to the starting air valve device 351 to effect operation thereof to supply starting air to pipe 33 through which it will flow to the cylinders of the engine in the proper sequence to cause said engine to start turning in the direc- In this position of lever I20 Lil 10 tion determined by the position of the cam shaft 2.

Fluid pressure supplied to pipe 3!, as just described, will also flow to pressure chamber 9|] wherein it will act on plunger 88 to urge the disc 8'! into close frictional contact with the end of the crank shaft l. After the engine has started to turn by the starting air supplied thereto, the rotation of the crank shaft i will then turn the friction disc 87 in a corresponding direction, which in the present instance is in the astern direction as indicated by the legend Astern applied to said disc in Fig. 5. This rotation of disc ii'l will actuate the lever 82 to first close the release valve 63 and to then open the supply valve E'S of the astern valve device E l whereupon fluid under pressure supplied from pipe 53a to chamber Si in said device will flow from said chamber to chamber 68 thence through passage 62 to the upper end of the double check valve iii. If the check valve Si is not in the position in which it is shown in the drawing at this time, the pressure of fluid supplied to passage 62 will shift it to said position whereupon fluid will flow from passage 62 to pipe 28 and thence to the relief valve device Zil.

The fluid under pressure thus supplied to the relief valve device 28 will actuate same to release fluid under pressure from the fuel cut-off device Ell whereupon spring M in said device will shift piston i l to its right-hand position thereby pulling or allowing movement of the fuel control lever i from its fuel cut-off position to its fuel supply position. This operation of the fuel control lever i will cause fuel to be supplied to engine, and with the engine turning under the influence of starting air supplied by the starting valve device 3d, the engine will then fire and run on fuel.

After the engine is running on fuel the operator will move his control lever iZEl out of the Astern Start position back to the Astern Run position to effect operation of the starting valve device 99 to open pipe ill to the atmosphere. The consequent release of fluid under pressure from pipe 38 will permit operation of the starting air valve device it to out off the supply of starting air to the engine, and will also relieve plunger 88 of pressure of fluid, in order to relieve pressure of the friction disc 8? against the end of the engine crank shaft i. Upon this release of force between friction disc 82 and the crankshaft I, the force of spring fila will seat the supply valve t6 and the force of spring E8 on plug 14 will move plunger it out of seating engagement with release valve 59, in the astern valve device 6d of the directional control valve device 60, to prevent further flow of fluid under pressure from pipe 53a and to release fluid under pressure from pressure chamber 21 in the relief valve device 26. As a result, valve 22 in the release valve device 2!] will close, but piston it will remain in its full cut-in or right-hand position since in the Astern Run position of lever in the stop valve device lilll opens pipe 1 i l to atmosphere.

If the engine is operating in an astern direction and the operator desires to stop the engine he will turn lever lilil to Stop position, thus actuating the stop control valve Hill to supply fluid under pressure to pipe ii l. From pipe H4 fluid under pressure flows past the check valve M5 to the fuel cut-off device ill for actuating same and thereby the fuel control arm I to cut off the supply of fuel to the engine, whereupon the engine will cease to operate.

If, however, with the engine operating in the astern direction, the operator desires to reverse its direction of operation, i. e. cause it to operate in an ahead direction, he will move the lever I2?) from the Astern Run position to the Ahead" Run position, and then, if he desires, immediately into the Ahead Start position.

Movement of the operators control lever from the Astern Run position to the Ahead Run position will release fluid under pressure from pipe 53 and cause operation of the ahead valve device 91 to supply fluid under pressure to pipe 52. The fluid pressure thus supplied to pipe 52, with pipe 53 vented, will then cause operation of the fluid motor 4!] to move the control arm to the ahead position indicated in Fig. 1 by the dot and dash line 5a for thereby shifting the cam shaft 2 to the position to provide for operation of the engine in the ahead direction. Fluid under pressure supplied to pipe 52 for causing operation of the power motor M! as just described will also flow through pipe 52a. to supply valve chamber 61 in the ahead valve device 65 of the directional control valve device 60, but since the supply valve 66 in said chamber is closed at this time further flow of fluid under pressure will be prevented.

Movement of the operators control handle I2fl from the "Astern Run position through Stop position to the Ahead Run position will also cause operation of the stop valve device Hill to supply fluid under pressure to pipe H4 through which it will flow past the check valve I I5 to the fuel cut-ofi cylinder If) for effecting operation thereof to move the lever 7 to its fuel cut-off position to thereby cut oif the supply of fuel to the engine while it is being stopped and until it is started in the opposite direction.

It will now be seen that if the operator moves lever I20 from the "Astern Run position only to the Ahead Run position he will effect operation only of the stop valve device Hill to cut off the supply of fuel to the engine to allow it to stop, and of the ahead valve device 97 to cause operation of the power motor 40 to reverse the position of the cam shaft in the engine. To start the engine in the new or ahead direction, the operator must move the control lever I20 into the Ahead Start position.

Movement of the control lever I20 into the Ahead Start position will cause operation of the starting valve device 99 to supply air to pipe 3! and thence to the starting air valve device 30 to effect operation of said valve device to supply starting air to the engine to place it in motion in the direction selected by the new or ahead 5J5 position of the cam shaft 2. Fluid pressure thus supplied to pipe 3| will also flow to chamber 89 to act on plunger 88 for moving the friction disc 81 into close contact with the end of the crank shaft I. Then as soon as the engine starts turning in the new direction, rotation of the crank shaft I will cause operation of the disc 81 and thereby of lever 82 to close the release valve 69 and open the supply valve 66 of the ahead valve device 65 of the directional control valve device 60. Fluid under pressure will then flow from pipe 52a to pipe 28 and thence to pressure chamber 21 in the relief valve device 20 for effecting operation of said device to release fluid under pressure from piston chamber I2 in the fuel cut-off device Ill. The piston II in the fuel cut-01f device Iii will be then moved by spring l4 back to its right-hand position to allow movement of the fuel control lever to its fuel supply position for supplying fuel to the engine to permit it to fire and run on fuel.

After the engine starts running on fuel the operator will then move control lever I20 from the Ahead Start position back to the Ahead Run position for releasing fluid under pressure from pipe 3| to effect operation of the starting air valve 30 to cut off the supply of starting air to the engine and to also relieve plunger 88 of pressure of fluid in chamber 90. The friction disc 81 being thus relieved of actuating pressure will become disengaged from the end of the crank shaft I and the supply valve 66 will close and the release valve 69 will open under action of springs 61a and 18 respectively, in the ahead valve device of the directional control valve device 60. Further flow of fluid under. pressure from pipe 52a to the release valve device 20 will thus be prevented and the fluid will be released from pressure chamber 27 in said device to thereby allow closure of the valve 22. The operator will then allow lever I20 to remain in the Ahead Run position as long as it is desired that the engine continue running in the ahead direction.

As before described, in reversing the engine from astern to ahead the operator may move the control lever I2 first to the Ahead Run position for effecting operation of the power motor 40 to reverse the cam shaft 2, after which he may move it to the Ahead Start position for starting the engine, or if he so desires, he may move the lever I29 directly to the Ahead Start" position without hesitation in Ahead Run position, In case he moves the lever directly to the Ahead Start position to effect reversal in direction of operation of the engine, it will be noted that the starting air valve device 30 will operate to supply starting air to the engine at substantially the same time that the power motor 40 operates to change the position of the cam shaft and thus while the engine is still operating in the astern direction. This is satisfactory however since the valve gear on the engine may be reversed while the engine is being operated by starting air, and is advantageous in that as soon as the cam shaft has become reversed starting air effective on the pistons in the engine will oppose movement thereof to promptly bring the engine to a stop and at the instant of stopping be effective to start the engine turning in the reverse direction.

It is however desired to point out, that if the operator moves his control lever directly to the Ahead Start position to effect reversal in the direction of operation of the engine, fuel will not be supplied to the engine until after it starts turning in the ahead direction, due to operation of the directional control valve device 68 as will now be described.

As before mentioned, upon movement of the operators control lever to the Ahead Start position, fluid pressure will be supplied to pipe 52 to effect reversal of the cam shaft and also to pipe 52a through which it will flow to the ahead valve device 65 in the directional control valve device 60. The simultaneous supply of air to pipe 3| will move the friction disc 81 into close contact with the crank shaft I and with the engine still operating in the astern direction will cause operation of the lever 82 in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 3. This will effect opening of the supply valve 66 in the astern valve device 64, which however is immaterial since pipe 53a is at this time open to the atmosphere through the astern valve device 98 in theoperators control valve device. Valve 65 in the ahead valve device 65 of the directional control valve device will thus remain closed until the engine stops and then starts to turn in the new or selected direction, whereupon the direction of action of disc 81 will be reversed and open said valve, Fluid under pressure will then flow from pipe 52a to actuate the relief valve device 28 to cause fuel to be supplied to the engine to cause it to turn in the ahead direction. After the engine is running on fuel the operator may return lever I from the Ahead Start position to the Ahead Run position in which fluid will be released from pipe 3| to effect operation of the starting air valve device to out off the supply of starting air to the engine and to also relieve plunger 88 of pressure of fluid, whereupon the friction disc 81 may become disengaged from the crank shaft I to permit return of the parts of the directional control valve device to the position shown in the drawing. With the parts of the ahead valve device thus returned to their normal position closing valve 55, further flow of fluid from pipe 52a to the relief valve device 20 will be prevented and fluid pressure will be released from piston chamber 21 in said device to thereby allow closure of the valve 22. The fuel cut-off piston I I and fuel cut-off lever I will then remain in their fuel supply positions as long as the operators lever remains in the Ahead Run position, providing for operation of the engine in the ahead direction.

If the operator now desires to stop the engine from running in the ahead direction he will move the control lever E20 back to Stop position for effecting operation of the stop valve device I30 to supply fluid under pressure to the fuel cut-oil device I0 to effect movement of the fuel control lever I to its fuel cut-off position shown in the drawing, whereupon the engine will stop operatmg.

If the engine is operating in an ahead direction and the operator desires to reverse the direc tion of operation of the engine he may move the control lever I28 from Ahead Run position to the Astern Run position and then if desired immediately into Astern Start position, and in response to this operation the fuel supply to the engine will be cut oh, the valve gear of the engine will be reversed, starting air will be supplied to the engine either at the same time as the valve gear is being reversed or after such reversal, depending upon the position of the operators control lever, and finally, after and only after the engine starts turning in the reverse direction, fuel will be supplied to the engine for causing it to operate. After the engine is then running on fuel the operator will move the control lever from the Astern Start position back to the Astern Run position to cut off the supply of starting air to the engine and to relieve the friction disc 81 from the end of the crank shaft I, so that the release valve device 20 may operate to condition the fuel cut-off device [0 to respond to subsequent movement of the operator's control device to Stop position.

In the operation of the directional control device 60, as above described, it will be noted that movement of disc 81 by the crankshaft I and hence rocking of lever 82, in both directions is limited by contact of screw Ha with plunger II in the ahead or astern valve device 64 or 65, as the case may be.

Summary From the above description it will now be seen that in starting the engine, the directional control device 60, cooperating with the engines crank shaft, is automatically operative to insure that fuel will not be supplied to the engine until after the engine starts to turn in the direction determined by the position of the engine cam shaft. Just as soon as the engine starts to turn in the desired direction however, the directional control device operates to permit fuel to be supplied to cause running of the engine.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A directional control device adjustable in accordance with the direction of rotation of a reversible rotatable shaft comprising a casing, two means to be operated disposed in said casing, actuating means adapted to frictionally contact said rotatable shaft for movement thereby in a direction corresponding to the direction of rotation of said shaft, means for limiting movement of said actuating means by said rotatable shaft to an arc, means operable by said actuating means upon movement of said actuating means in one direction to operate one of said two means and upon movement of said actuating means in the opposite direction to operate the other of said two means, a movable abutment connected to said actuating means adapted to be operated by fluid under pressure to move said actuating means into frictional contact with said rotatable shaft, and means for conveying fluid under pressure to act on said movable abutment and for releasing fluid under pressure therefrom.

2. A directional control device adjustable in accordance with the direction of rotation of a reversible shaft comprising a casing, two means to be operated disposed in said casing, a friction disc arranged in coaxial relation to one end of said shaft and adapted to frictionally engage said shaft for turning movement thereby in a direction corresponding to the direction of rotation of said shaft, means for limiting movement of said disc to an arc, a member carried by said casing operable by said disc upon turning in one direction to actuate one of said two means and upon turning in the opposite direction to actuate the other of said two means, actuating means supporting said disc in coaxial relation with said rotatable element adapted to be operated by fluid under pressure for moving said element into engagement with said rotatable element, and means for conveying fluid under pressure to act on said actuating means and for releasing fluid under pressure therefrom.

ROY R. STEVENS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 115,846 Harris June 13, 1871 650,517 Place May 29, 1900 1,089,478 Kasley Mar. 10, 1914 1,595,458 Doolittle Aug. 10, 1926 2,267,114 Lear Dec. 23, 1941 2,345,223 Upp Mar. 28, 1944 2,352,140 Trott June 20, 1944 2,366,310 Boldt Jan. 2, 1945 2,367,194 Boldt Jan. 16, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 553,603 Great Britain 1943 

